The applicant has devised a balanced hydration system wherein a control unit monitors the patient's urine output and provides hydration fluid to the patient based on the patient's urine output. See published U.S. Patent Application Serial No. US2006/0052764A1 incorporated herein by this reference.
One embodiment of such a system requires both an infusion tubing set extending between a hydration fluid bag and an IV needle inserted into the patient and also a urine collection tubing set extending between a urine collection bag and a catheter inserted in the patient.
Currently, no commercially available tubing set includes both an infusion tubing set and a urine collection tubing set; nor are the separate infusion tubing and urine collection sets commercially available suitable for use with the applicant's system.
Moreover, it is preferred for priming of the tubing and for system initialization that the urine collection tubing set be connected to the infusion tubing set. No commercially available product provides such an interconnection.
In addition, during replacement of an empty infusion fluid bag, it is possible that a full infusion fluid bag might be hung by a nurse or attendant at an elevation higher than the patient creating a “free flow” condition where infusion fluid is injected into a patient unintentionally.
Finally, it may not be obvious to a nurse or attendant how the infusion tubing and/or the urine collection tubing sets are to be used, interfaced with the balanced hydration control unit, and/or connected between the patient and the urine collection and infusion fluid bags.